The Forgiving
by Eruaphadriel
Summary: I shouldn’t have been scared of the house. Derek promised we’d be safe. Now he's missing and the Edison Group has coincidentally stopped their search for us. What's worse is that I think I've seen him. So I'm taking off to find him; to be sure he is alive
1. Chapter 1

I do not own any part of Kelley Armstrong's fantastical world. I simply felt the urge to write the third installment the way I would like it to end. Please feel free to critique me, but this is simply my own version of _The Reckoning_ which will be released in late April/early May. Please be kind enough to let me know what you think by hitting the review button at the bottom. I have been away from fan fiction for almost 3 years, and really hope to kick start my fan fiction days with something enjoyable for everyone. Love to you all.

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The Forgiving

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Chapter 1

I wasn't exactly sure what time it was when I finally woke up, but there was a bit of dim light slinking through the curtains into the small bedroom Id been assigned to. It felt good to sleep on a bed again, actually it just felt good to sleep again in general. The last few days had morphed into something clearly unreal for me, and I couldn't really be sure how many hours I had managed to sleep soundly. If it wasn't for Derek helping me keep the nightmares away I probably would have keeled over and died for exhaustion.

Removing the heavy blanket from my body, I stole a quick glance at the alarm clock that was perched on the bedside table. It said 5:00. Five what? Five in the morning, Five at night? Why couldn't the cheap alarm clocks put the little am or pm next to the number? It would have made things easier on me considering it could have been dusk or dawn. I tugged my fingers through my hair a little too hard out of frustration and caught them in a knot. The soft yelp of pain I gave wasn't ear-splitting, but I definitely startled myself in the semi dark room.

When we arrived at the safe house one of the women that Andrew introduced us to handed me over some old night clothes. Tori had been lucky enough to nab the silky nightgown. As for me, well, I got stuck wearing some tween Hannah Montana cotton pajamas. The blond wigged pop stars face was right smack in the center of my chest, and even as I looked down I cringed in absolute horror. It was one thing sleeping in something like this if you were like ten, but wearing Hannah Montana's face on my fifteen year old developing chest just made it seem weird and completely wrong. I tried to forget this as I adjusted the strap on the tank and let my feet dangle over the side of the bed.

My toes had barely touched the hard wood floor when my door clicked open and the light from outside was blocked almost immediately. Under any other circumstance I would have probably jumped out of my skin, but recently I had begun to grow accustom to Derek's surprise appearances.

"I heard you yell from my room. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. I thought that maybe you saw something."

Saw something as in my Aunt Lauren. He didn't have to say it, I could read it in his features when I finally turned to look at him.

"No, just a hair injury. " He looked confused, but I just waved it off, "Never mind, what time is it?" Though this seemed like a pointless question when I finally realized he was still in his own sleep attire. It seemed like the pickings for the boys were almost as bad as the girls. Derek was wearing baggy sweat pants and a much too tight t-shirt. I lowered my gaze to my fingers to avoid staring.

"Early morning. I haven't heard anyone else downstairs yet." He crossed the room and took a seat in the arm chair opposite the bed.

"Then why are you up?" I asked, my eyebrows quirking upward just a bit. I wheeled around to stare at him. " Are you ... changing? Do you want me to go for a walk with you?"

There was a slight hesitation in his answer, and for a moment I thought I could catch an uncomfortable glitter in his eye.

"No, I'm fine. Feverish, but fine." His voice was scratchy. "Makes it hard to sleep and all." He shrugged, and then ran his fingers through his hair.

It was wet, or sweaty. I was standing too far away from him to actually tell, but as soon as I thought it I immediately felt guilty. It wasnt like Derek could control the pungent odor that lingered on him. He was a werewolf for crying out loud. He did his best to control it, and here I was pulling a Tori and thinking the worst all while he came in to check on me.

"You promise you'll tell me if you need me to go with you, right?" I folded my arms over my chest, suddenly aware that I wasnt wearing much. I decided to keep my arms firmly over Hannah Montana's stupid face.

"You don't have to come you know. Its my fault for dragging you off the bus and getting us in trouble in the first place. " His voice sounded defeated; dejected.

I hated seeing him like that.

"Always the martyr." I mumbled, knowing that he'd be able to hear it no matter how low I whispered. Despite it being _her _choice to go with him into the forest, Derek always felt the need to continually blame himself if someone was close to being hurt. I had lived; I was a big girl and could make my own choices. I didn't argue with him, I just shook my head.

"Chloe, I want to talk about what happened tonight. With The Edison Group finding us...about Andrew"

The seriousness in his tone made me nervous, but I stepped forward and slipped back up onto my bed. "Sure, shoot." I brought my knees up so I could rest my chin upon them. Suddenly I felt like I was eleven again and I was at some sleepover party with my very best girl friend. Only this was Derek, and he was most definitely not a girl; nor eleven. He didnt even look sixteen half the time.

"It doesn't make sense."

There it was out. Derek Souza always assuming the worst once we actually found something that could possibly be the very best. Wed been running for almost two weeks! If sleeping in a warm bed in a safe house didn't seem safe, well, I wasn't about to pack my bags and start running for the forest. Not yet anyway.

"What doesnt make sense, Derek?" I cocked my head to the side and blinked through the watery film that was still covering my eyes. I was still tired.

He grunted, and I knew I was walking a fine line of keeping him calm or pissing him off. I really wanted to avoid the latter.

"Running into Andrew like we did. Having him just show up so conveniently when we were running like that. It doesn't add up to me." His jaw twitched, green eyes focused hard on the muscles flexing in his forearm.

"This isnt a math problem, Derek. You cant just assume there is going to be perfect concrete answers every time something feels suspicious." I lowered my legs and inched myself to the edge of the bed so that I was sitting right in front of him. "You said yourself that Andrews place looked ransacked the same way your Dads place had. And why would Andrew want to endanger you or Simon when he obviously still cares about you? Your pictures are still on his wall for crying out loud."

He didnt answer me, just continued to watch the muscles vibrate beneath his skin. I hated when he went broody and quiet like this. It was like trying to convey a message to a brick wall, only there was a slight chance that a brick wall would actually talk back before Derek did.

I heaved a sigh, "I'm not saying that I totally one hundred percent trust this whole situation, cause I don't. I don't know how we can trust anyone completely. " How could we trust anyone after everything that had happened. I had trusted my Aunt Lauren only to find out she was a traitor, a redeemed traitor, but a traitor nonetheless. There was also the sting of Rae and Tori and just about every other single person screwing things up for us.

I" trust you." He said softly, finally lifting his eyes away from his forearm to catch my own disbelieving stare.

Had this been Simon confessing his trust in me I would have taken it with a broad smile and a cheery thanks. Having Derek sit in front of me and vouch his trust made my stomach throb hard enough that I thought I might get sick.

"And I trust you. " I finally got out after a heartbeat, "and its why we all have to trust each other and stick together." There, awkwardness averted. "If you really think that something sketchy is going on here Ill back you up on it. But I think we need to go over it with Simon and Tori fir-"

"No." There was a urgent demand in his voice that scared me just a bit. " We can tell Simon, but I dont want Tori to hear this."

I furrowed my brow again, "Why? Tori has just as much a right to know what danger we could potentially be in." I hated that we all couldnt just get along for the sake of this whole ordeal.

"I dont trust her either."

Here we go again. Another moment in the Derek hates Tori verbal bashing extravaganza. Pretty soon I was going to start carrying around a fold up wrestling ring and match bell. Then I could ding in an official fight and Simon and I could watch the fireworks between the two.

I rolled my eyes, "Seriously, Derek, this is getting old. The I hate Tori vendetta that you have going on needs to stop." I couldn't forget the look in his face when we had heard they had taken her in the forest. Had Tori not escaped on her own I was fairly certain that Derek would have left her.

"Don't you think its a little too lucky that Tori was left to defend herself with one bodyguard? After they found out what she was capable of doing back at the warehouse? You think her Mother would even allow them to be so lax with the guards left to detain her?" His green eyes shone beneath the wet strands of black hair. He was raising good points, but I didnt want to believe them.

I wasnt particularly fond of Tori, but I didnt hate her either. She was like an annoying beauty mark smack dab in the middle of your face; annoying but surprisingly unique. That Tori would flat out speak her mind was something that I was beginning to find myself liking. At least I always knew where she stood.

"Maybe they figured she wouldnt try anything if she knew the potential threat of being hurt. I mean they were carrying guns, and it was dark and scary. Maybe they didnt take into account that Tori wouldnt stand up for herself. " I shrugged, pulling at any possible strings to make sense of his accusations.

"Or maybe they promised her immunity if she gave us up." He said flatly.

"After the way her Mom treated her, I doubt it. Tori is a lot of things, but I dont think shes that stupid." I knew she didnt have the greatest personality, but I also knew there were skeletons in her closet that I had chosen to keep secret from both Simon and Derek. They didnt need to know what happened that night in the factory when Tori called her Dad. She had been a mess, and I was going to respect that.

"You are too nice sometimes, Chloe. It makes you delusional." He stood up from the chair, and hovered in front of me.

"Are you saying Im stupid?" I suddenly got very hot in the face, and my defenses flared up. I didnt like fighting with Derek, even though that seemed to be our favorite pastime. "I'm not stupid, Derek. Im just not so easily swayed to jump to conclusions about people who have helped me out. Tori helped me out when she didnt have to, this Andrew friend of yours, he helped me out without even knowing who I was. So if I want to go ahead and believe that maybe our luck is changing then Im going to believe it." I didn't realize how loud my voice had gotten until Dereks face was turning towards my bedroom door.

It opened, and before I could even see who was standing there Derek grunted; "Hi Simon."

My breathing was patchy and quick, and when Simon stepped into the room so he could close the door I could see his eyes flicker between the two of us. There was worry etched in his features. Worry? Maybe uneasy concern? Whatever was there I tried to swallow my anger when he smiled and asked me what was wrong.

"I-I-I-I ha-a-ad a kn-n-no"

"Slow down, take a breath." Derek muttered, and then dropped back into the chair. It would have been better if he just left. I hated when he tried to calm my speech impediment.

Of course I took a breath like he suggested, and for a split second I thought I saw a smirk tug at the corner of his mouth. Jerk.

"I had a knot in my hair. Derek heard me yell when I tugged it out and came to see if the big bad hair monster had taken me alive." I joked, hoping that it would kill the tension. I dont know why it was tense in the room, but I could feel it. It was suffocating me.

"How nice of you, bro." Simon looked over at Derek and gave, what looked like, a forced smile. "You keep pulling out all these heroic acts and Im going to have to start setting myself on fire and cliff diving into lakes to impress her."

I blushed a bit and I thanked myself over and over that it was dark enough in the room that the blush would be missed. Though when I looked over at Derek he was staring at me and I felt like he _could _see it. That made me blush even more, and I tried to focus on something else as Simon pointed out my pajamas.

"Those are some hot jammies you have going on, Chloe. Maybe if you try really hard you could summon her dead career out of the grave. What is she? Seventeen and her career is already going..." He mimicked an airplane crashing into the ground with his hand.

"Yeah, and for a real kick Ill summon back her Dads. Cant forget those instant mullet classics." Pop culture. It was always easiest to joke about, and thankfully enough Simon seemed to know loads.

He moved forward and took me by the hand. "Come on, lets get breakfast before anyone else wakes up. We can have our own private feast." He was already pulling me out the door before I had a chance to protest. "Come on bro." He called back over his shoulder.

Truthfully I was hungry, but after locking hands with Simon in the van I was skittish about this whole 'I like you and you like me thing' we had going on. I knew Simon was more open with these things because that was Simon. He probably had loads of girls lined up for him when he was at school. Me, well, I was still giggling in my head that he had even wanted to hold my hand in the first place. Not exactly a temptress of desire.

There was a grunt somewhere behind me, and I looked at Derek rising up from his spot in the chair. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his sweats, and I couldnt help but feel slightly uncomfortable with this display in front of him.

"Actually Simon..." I gave a tug so he would release my hand, "I think Im going to try and squeeze in another hour or so. Its been - well its been a long few days." I tried to smile so that he would understand I had been up for the gesture, but it was lost somewhere amongst my bajillion other thoughts.

"Oh, sure, right." He shrugged, a snorting sort of noise coming from him, "I didnt even think that youd be tired. Stupid me I guess, but-" he perked up almost instantly, "that leaves like loads of food left over for you my man." He had turned his attention towards Derek. Derek merely grunted out something that sounded a bit like; Yeah.

I nodded, and then turned around to go back into my room. Derek stood in the door-frame, all six feet of him completely blocking me from getting by. "Sorry". I mumbled, stepping aside so he could move by and let me in. "Ill talk to you later." I whispered. I knew he heard it because he nodded his head again in silence.

If we were going to be investigating Tori and Andrew then I wanted it to be clear that I was going to be calling shots this time around. I was not going to be his lapdog bowing down to every little command. Derek may have had the upper hand on a lot of things, but he didnt have the upper hand on this. Still, it didnt mean I couldnt start a little investigating of my own before things really got underway.

I closed the blinds even more to block out the light, and then took a seat in the middle of the bedroom floor. It was still quiet enough for me to concentrate, and though I didnt have the sweat shirt anymore there was a pretty good feeling inside of me that made me believe I could do this without screwing anything up. I closed my eyes and concentrated on her slippers and her blonde hair.

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Liz? Liz can you hear me?

Nothing.

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Liz, its me Chloe. I really need you. Please. Liz

There was something there, well, someone there. I could feel them. The weight was heavy on the back of my neck, and it felt like they were hovering somewhere next to my ear. I wanted to open my eyes to see Lizs smiling face, but I was terrified of opening them up and being greeted by two eye sockets and a decaying face.

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Is that you, Liz? Can you let me know if thats you?

I really didnt want to open my eyes. Id scream and then the boys would come running, and then Derek would yell at me for being reckless again. I was going to have to look no matter how terrified I was. My heart was hammering so hard against my chest that I was waiting for Derek to open up my door and demand me to quiet it down. I swallowed, prepared myself for whatever horrifying sight was about to pop out at me, and then opened them up. There were two large eyes staring right back into my face, noses practically touching.

"Boo."

I fell backwards, hands covering my face while my legs kicked out. I didnt scream. Somehow my voice box managed to go into paralysis mode instantaneously. Of course after a tick of a second I moved my hands and stared up into Lizs grinning face.

"Why didnt you answer me?" I hissed, trying hard to keep my voice as low as possible. I didnt know who was listening, well that was a lie. I knew Derek would be listening if he could, but I didnt know who else would be listening if given the chance.

"I was wondering what it would be like to be a real life poltergeist for a second. Figured Id see how you reacted. It completely worked, you know. You should have seen your face." The girl giggled, and then proceeded to jump up onto the bed.

I followed her, crawling back under the thick blanket. "Where have you been? I missed you. I have so much to tell you." Despite the fact that Liz was dead I desperately needed someone to vent to. Someone who wasnt going to come back at me with bitchy remarks, or sympathize with me too much. Someone who wasnt going to tell me I was stupid for over analyzing things. I just needed to talk.

"Went to visit my nana." There was a look of sadness in her face, "It was good though. Really good. Im glad I could see her again...glad to see that she is happy." She stared down at her feet, and then after a moment she shot her eyes up and smiled. " Having fun adventures then?" She bounced a bit, "I know! I could see some of them when I came looking for you."

"You did come looking?" I was startled. I figured that if Liz came back she would have at least tried to get in touch with me.

"Course I did. Just couldnt break through the wall and talk to you for some reason. It comes and goes sometimes. One second Ill be able to talk to you no problem, easy peazy. The next-" she made to snap her fingers but of course no sound came out. " its like getting stuck in one of those glass boxes you always see Mimes acting out. But I can see you- follow you and all. I helped ya out once too!" She said this excitedly, and I couldnt help but grin at her enthusiasm.

"What did you do?" Thinking that maybe it had been Liz who helped her get out of the alley with those girls. Maybe she had caused some sort of distraction that allowed me to hit the pavement running.

"When you got holed up with Derek for those few days. Remember?" She asked, finally bouncing down to sit beside me. "There were those other boys, those awful ones that kept threatening you..."

How could I forget? Liam and Ramon had pretty much threatened to maul me, and then they had devised a trade off. My safety for Derek. The scary thing was that there had been a brief second that I knew Derek had contemplated going. That he would have sacrificed himself, again, for my safety. It had pained me so much then, the thought of him doing something so reckless, and even now reflecting on that moment I wanted to go downstairs and yell at him for how stupid he would have been.

"Yeah, I dont really think Ill be forgetting that for awhile." No, probably not ever.

"Well when that one guy was chasing you I kept throwing trash bins at him to keep him away from you. You both got away and all, but I banged him up enough that he called it a lost cause!"

I could tell how proud she was. "I owe you for that Liz, and so does Derek. We were pretty banged up after that."

"I tried to find you again after that, but I couldnt break through for some reason." Her eyes got bright and wide, well bright enough for a ghost. "He sure does like protecting you though."

My face must have been twisted up in such confusion because Liz sighed and shook her head.

"Derek." She flicked at her knee," I knew he was worried about your safety when you were running from that guy, I mean it was obvious, but you should have seen his face when you hit that wall! He was terrified." She nodded.

Derek? Terrified? As much as I wanted to hear what else Liz had seen I couldnt afford to waste time; nor could I afford sorting out the twisting feeling that nagged at me again.

"He was worried is all. Now Liz, I need to seriously ask you another favor. A big one." I began wringing my hands together.

"Course Chloe." She nodded, her features growing serious after she saw the severity in mine.

"We almost got caught again last night. Someone knew where we would be and they almost had us. I mean, they had Tori, Liz. They had her and we werent sure if wed be able to get her without getting caught ourselves. And then poof she throws some magic down and gets away. The guy who helped up out is or was apparently friends with Simon and Derek's Dad, but Derek doesn't trust anything in this house any further then he can throw it."

"That's an awfully long toss. He has a lot of muscle."

I closed my eyes, "Liz, serious time." I just needed her to focus a bit longer." I need you to stick around this house for a little while. Keep an eye on Tori and this Andrew guy and let me know if anything strange goes on. Let me know who they talk to, and let me know if you hear anything about a man named Kit or the Edison Group." I could see the tentativeness in her face. She had been best friends with Tori after all. "Please, Liz. Please. I want to get back at the people who have been doing this to us... to you! I want to stop them if they are brainwashing Tori, but I need your help."

"I - I suppose I could stick around for a little while and watch. I dont know what you expect me to find but I -"

I waved my hand at her as footsteps sounded outside my door, and I quickly threw myself against the pillows pretending to sleep again.

"Chloe... its just around 6 and the boys are already downstairs eating breakfast. Get ready and come down. We have a long afternoon. There are some people I want you to meet today." Andrews voice came through the door.

I opened up my eyes and looked at the spot Liz had been sitting. She was gone.

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Dare I continue? Let me know what you think please.


	2. Chapter 2

I just wanted to thank everyone for the reviews I received! I really feel like reviews make the heart grow fonder of a story. I certainly stayed up until 3am finishing this so I could get it up. I know that this story says its Chlerek, but there will be no Derek and Chloe anything for quite some time. I need the drama and suspense to build a little before I let that satisfaction hit. Besides, I've read tons of fics where they end up together almost immediately. I figured I'd change it up a bit. So, I hope you enjoy chapter two. Don't forget to let me know what you think.

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**_Chapter 2 _**

I didn't have anything on me when we arrived at the safe house. Sure they provided me with pajamas, but I was just about ready to slip my dirty clothes back on and just head down to the kitchen. Instead there was a knock on the door and the woman from the night before stuck her head inside.

She smiled, "I thought I heard you scuffling around in here." There was an awkward pause where I should have said something. I was nervous, paranoid even. Stupid Derek. He had brainwashed me without even trying very hard.

"S-s-sorry, I just was going to get ready." I looked to the chair where I had thrown my clothes right after I peeled them off. "My clothes are gone."

"I took the liberty of washing your clothes, Chloe, but they are not quite dry yet. There are a few things in the closet you are free to wear. This afternoon we are going to send Mirabelle out to pick up some things for you and the others." She nodded, and began closing the door behind her, "Oh, the bathroom is right outside your door on the left if you'd like to shower."

"Thank you." It was the best I could do without trying to hard to cover up the waver in my voice.

"If you need anything else you can give me a call." I started to say something about not recalling her name, but she waved her hand in the air. "How silly of me. Helen. I'm Helen."

After seeing ghosts for two weeks straight I wasn't sure if Helen was really standing there in front of me. I wouldn't be surprised if I called out for a Helen later and everyone looked at me like I was some crazy girl. I guess I didn't really have a choice anymore. Falling victim to a bunch of ghosts seemed a bit weak to me to be honest.

"Thanks Helen." Nodding slightly as she closed the door behind her.

Immediately I took to the closet to see what sort of mess I was going to end up with. Normally I wasn't very picky about the things I wore, but for some reason I thought it would be nice to scrub away the layers of street filth and feel clean for a change; maybe even pretty. Course looking pretty with my jet black hair was going to be a tall task to overcome, but I was willing to give anything a shot.

The clothes on the rack were simple at best, but a few of them looked like they could be salvaged if the dust was swatted off of them. There was a pretty blue shirt that would have been rather nice to wear if the jeans in the closet were anything close to my size. I pulled out the three pairs of pants and sighed. They were four sizes too big. I'd have to settle elsewhere. Of course that pretty much meant I'd be stuck wearing the white and green cotton dress that was shoved in the back of the closet. It was a summery sort of look, but I had to make do.

The shower was right outside my door like Helen had pointed out, and when I stepped into the windowless room I breathed in the scent of perfume and soap. I never thought I'd appreciate the smell of lilac and shaving cream as much as I did in the very moment. The mixture reminded me of when I was little and my Dad used to shave while I sat on the toilet. My Mom's perfume was always sitting right there on the counter and the floral scent mixed with the cleanliness of his face.

I piled everything onto the counter and stared in to the oval mirror. For a girl who was normally pale I looked absolutely sick. My face was whiter then usual, and the purple circles under my eyes gave the distinct impression that I had not slept in days. Well there's the truth smacking me right in the face. I stuck my tongue out and studied the color the way my Aunt Lauren would have done had I been at home. It looked pink enough. I guess I wasn't dying.

The water was warm and fantastic, and for a very brief moment I contemplated tucking away inside the tub and letting all the warm water run out. Oddly enough I didn't enjoy the thought of meeting new people looking like a shriveled Grandma, so I finished rinsing out my hair and then toweled myself dry. The dress I slipped on was a bit itchy, and I could have really used my bra, but my stomach was growling to much to argue; or to go searching for Helen.

I padded barefoot down the steps in the direction of the waffles and sausages I smelled wafting through the air. We had arrived at such an odd time the day before, and I was so exhausted, that I hadn't really paid enough attention to the layout of the house. The house was big, really big. I took a turn and ended up in a laundry room first. I retraced my steps, made a right instead of a left at the staircase, and ended up in another bathroom. Epic failure. I trekked back the way I had walked, turned left again, and walked straight into a solid mass.

My first reaction was to swing out, but when my eyes focused on the redheaded girl in front of me I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bowl you over."

The girl smiled politely, and tucked a bright red strand of hair behind her ear. " It's alright. First night here and I ended up somewhere in the attic. Nearly lost my mind in there. Creepy places attics are." She held out her hand, "Selene."

"Chloe." I took her hand and gave it a polite, but firm, handshake. I tried not to stare at her while I let go of her hand, but it was sort of impossible now that we were in silence. I'd seen a lot of movies in my day, but I had never seen a girl as beautiful as Selene. Perfect clear skin, big blue eyes, wavy red hair… she made me want to tar and feather her just because I was curious as to how pretty she'd look if I actually _did _do that.

"You came in with those other guys yesterday, right?" She broke me out of my trance.

I assumed she meant Tori, Simon and Derek, "Yeah, we got here last night."

"So are you the witch or the necromancer?" She lifted her eyebrow.

I felt my mouth open and close, unaware that I was doing it until Selene gave another reassuring smile. "We all spoke to Andrew when you went to sleep. He didn't tell us which of you possessed what, but we automatically assumed the big oaf in there has werewolf genetics and the Asian boy to be a sorcerer…unless of course _he _is a witch and I'm completely off my game." She shrugged.

After weeks of running from people who were out to hurt her, Chloe stood there and blinked silently at the girl. If only she had found the kitchen a bit faster. "Who is we? How many of you live here?" _There, sidestep the question. Good work Chloe. _

"There are seven of us who actually live here permanently, sixteen that come and go as they please. Andrew is apparently one of them though Ethan says he hasn't been here in a very long time." She shrugged, "Come on I'll show you where the kitchen is."

I followed closely on her heels as we moved by the staircase again. Selene seemed nice enough. She sort of reminded me of Kari or Beth back at school. She was the sort of girl I would have probably hung around had I not been ripped away and thrown into the Lyle House.

"So what do you do? Are _you _a witch?" We turned the corner and started walking down a long hallway. I could hear voices at the far end, good, at least I'd be able to eat soon.

"Seth and I are half-demons." She spoke over her shoulder, "Seth's my twin brother. Ethan calls us the ying-yang of half-demons…" a giggle passed through her lips, "I can numb anything someone might be feeling. Sort of sounds useless, but it's a great trick when I want to walk across hot coals and swipe some money off of gullible betting drunks." Her shoulders shrugged, "Seth can intensify any emotion or feeling. Super cool when we were in classes and I faked crying over a grade. All he had to do was look at me real hard and I'd be bawling. Got sent home and everything." She grinned, and then pushed opened the swinging door at the end of the hallway.

My hand slid across the surface and I followed her in.

"Well nice of you to join us Princess Chloe." Tori was putting a bowl into the sink. She was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a white t-shirt. "Hey! How come she gets a dress and all I get are stupid boy clothes?" She was wheeling on Andrew, and I merely slipped around Selene towards the kitchen counter.

"It's just what was available Tori." Andrew chimed in, "I'm sure we can get you some things this afternoon. Chloe?"

I turned, cereal box still in my hand as I was debating over Lucky Charms and AppleJax. There was a slight chance I'd be mixing both, but Andrew's tone seemed serious. "Yes?" I hadn't noticed the other side of the kitchen where Simon, Derek and two other boys were sitting.

Simon gave a short wave while hovering over his cereal bowl.

"I wanted you to meet a few people before the day got started." He said brightly, crossing towards the two nameless boys. "I see you met Selene." Andrew gave Selene a short nod and then gestured towards the one boy with short red hair. I was already pinning him as Selene's twin. "This is Seth whom I'm sure Selene has mentioned already."

All I could say was a very weak sort of hello before Andrew pointed to the other boy. "And this is Adam, they've been here in the house for almost a year now, and will gladly help you, well help all of you, get around. It's an awfully large establishment."

"What do you do?" Adam was staring up at me from behind a piece of toast.

"Huh?" I knew I should have been paying better attention, but my mind was really stuck on the box of cereal in my hand.

"What sort of supernatural are you?" He put the toast down and brushed his brown hair out of his eyes.

I saw Simon and Derek tense at the table; even Tori grunted which could have meant she was defending me or pissed that Simon and Derek were ready to lash out on my expense again. I went with the latter.

"Nec-c-c-cromancy." I finally squeezed out, though I already felt the heat rise up in my cheeks. I had finally seemed to fix my stutter around the boys and Tori, now I was going to be forced to work through it again with another batch of new people. \

Seth and Selene both shot looks in my direction, and I quickly turned around to pour my half and half bowl of cereal.

"Have you done it?" Seth joined in the conversation; I continued to pour, "Raise the dead and everything? Was it cool? How does it work? Can you-"

"Leave her alone."

If my face was red before it didn't compare to the color it must have turned to hear Derek speak up on my behalf. I just reached for the milk on the counter and began pouring it into my bowl.

"Look man I wasn't asking anything difficult. You want to know what I do? I have no problems showing it." I heard Seth's chair move back from the table, but was thankful when Andrew cleared his voice.

"I don't think that will be necessary Seth." His tone was firm, "You will all be living in the house so I think you should keep the testosterone levels at bay. There is no need to demonstrate who the alpha male will be."

"Probably the dog." Someone muttered, and even I couldn't help but turn around and gawk at the direction it was coming from. Adam, who didn't seem to care that he had been heard, shrugged, and then went back to his toast.

My first reaction was to look over at Derek, but by the time my eyes fixated on the spot his chair was empty. For a boy of his size, I don't think I will ever understand how he does that. With my bowl of cereal in my hands I decided to take the empty seat beside Simon. As soon as I sat down he gave my thigh a reassuring pat, and I jumped. Milk spilled across the front of my dress; Tori snorted back a laugh.

"Oh…here…" Simon reached over the counter and grabbed a few napkins, "Sorry Chloe." The tips of his ears were red and he went back to finishing his own breakfast.

Blotting out the wet spots wasn't so difficult considering the dress was white, and when I crumpled the napkins and placed them on the counter I tried to give Simon a smile to show that it was really ok. I mean, it was okay. He just took me off guard. Besides if anyone knew how jumpy I could get it was Simon and Derek. Every time I bumped into one of them it was usually me jumping ten feet into the air before I calmed myself back down.

Cereal was good. Really good. Like a euphoric dance marathon in my mouth. My house never had cereal with sugary marshmallows so this was like a treat to the candy store for me. I savored every bite; half considering to lift the bowl to my mouth to guzzle down the sweet milk. I refrained however. Not because I didn't think it was appropriate; the other three kids were somewhere behind us muttering at the table. No, I decided not to drunk the milk because just as I was about to lift it the kitchen door opened again and two other people entered.

The man was much older then Andrew, older then my own Dad even. His hair was thinning on both sides and his face was hard and square. Something about the way his features worked together reminded me vaguely of some Italian Mafia hit man. If only he had a cigar.

"Ah good, you've brought them all together I see, Andrew." He looked about the room, eyes lingering on the back table before coming to rest on Simon, Tori and me. "Where is the other boy? The large one?" He looked over his shoulder.

Andrew wiped his hand over his mouth and looked at Simon before answering; "Derek had some things to take care of. He'll be back."

"Good good then. Well, I wont waste anyone's time since most of you are here already." He waved his hand behind him and one of the stools moved to rest comfortable under his rear.

Suddenly my sugary milk seemed so last season.

He lifted his chin, studied us a bit more, and then after an extremely awkward silence he motioned for the other girl to sit down. She did so without speaking. "I'm so glad you three, well five, " he corrected, pointing at Andrew and looking up towards the ceiling presumably where Derek was, "could make it to us last night. Andrew has filled us in on all the little details, and to be honest I was quite impressed by your little adventure."

Simon shifted uncomfortably beside me, and I knew exactly why. Our adventure, no matter how short of time it may have been, was anything but little. Being on the streets for two weeks had sucked all four of us completely dry, and to have that belittled made me feel like some little kid who had packed up her plastic lunchbox and ran away to the backyard for the night.

"I'm Ethan Tripp." He smiled, "I've been taking care of most of the proceedings here at the house. I know you all must have plenty of questions you'd like answered, but first I'd like to get to know you a bit. See what we are working with here." His gaze flickered to Tori first, and for the first time I saw her stutter with her own words.

"O-o-oh, Tori." She said sort of lamely, and I couldn't help but grin in spite of myself, "I'm a witch." And that was that. Honestly I waited a bit longer to hear her go off on Ethan about her lack of wardrobe, but Tori was already picking up her glass of orange juice to guzzle down.

Ethan's eyes turned on me. "Chloe."

"Ah, the necromancer." He pointed out.

Did everyone know I was a necromancer? Did I have it tattooed somewhere on my forehead while I was sleeping?

"Yeah." There wasn't much more to add from there. If he knew everything about me already I didn't see the point of expanding.

"So you must be Simon then."

I really hated the way he was talking to us. Glancing over my shoulder at the table, Seth gave me a wink and then hovered back in to talk with his sister and Adam. I was sure they were getting a jolt out of watching us sweat it out. The new kids. The ones who were freakishly tested on. It was like being back in High School all over again. We were the losers, the weird kids, and they were the 'it' crowd. I snorted back at the thought and then lowered my eyes as Simon finished babbling on some nonsense about how he could really be Derek and that Ethan shouldn't just assume his identity.

Ethan laughed, and then slipped from the stool to stand beside the other girl in the room. "I like you Simon, sharp, like your Father." He waggled his finger a bit. "This is Mirabelle." He gestured to the girl with the pin straight jet black hair. "She's in training right now as well. A level of demonology we have yet to really hone in on. She can read thoughts. Little things really. Nothing but a mere few words that might pass through your mind."

"But I'm really trying, sir." She had a thick southern accent, and followed Ethan with her eyes as he paced the room.

"Of course you are, Mira." Leaving her sitting there he moved back to the table where the three others were sitting.

I personally couldn't care less about getting to know any of them. All I wanted to do was go upstairs and talk strategy with Derek, Simon and Tori. We came here to find their Dad and help take down Edison Group. We needed to help avenge what they did to Liz, to Brady, to Peter, to Amber…to my Aunt Lauren. I swallowed hard.

"Adam here has a terrific gift of manipulating fire."

"Like Rae!" Tori chimed in, and then bit her lip and looked back down at her juice.

Simon shot me a look and we both smirked knowingly. It must have been agony for Tori to sit there feeling so belittled and nervous. I could only suppress my giggles for so much longer until I cracked.

Ethan didn't seem to care about Tori's outburst and proceeded to talk about Selene and Seth's ability before finally coming to stand in front of us all again.

"I had wished to meet Mr. Souza, but I assume he is still adjusting." He clapped his hands together.

_Or incredibly suspicious of this entire place. _If I knew Derek, which I was pretty sure I did, I knew he'd be up in his room listening in on this whole conversation anyway. His massive presence wouldn't have changed much except leave one person without a chair.

"Well, all in due time I suppose then, right?" He looked at me and I merely shrugged.

If Derek didn't want to come down from his room for days I highly doubted this guy was going to persuade him.

"Now, I understand the three of you, and Mr. Souza of course, came here last night with very little. I spoke with Helen who tidies up for us and she said you all may need a few things." He waved his hand towards Mirabelle. "Mira, I want you to go to the nearest outlet and purchase some new clothes for these kids."

It was like watching a kid on Christmas. Tori slid from her seat and began talking a mile a minute about joining Mirabelle. The only words I managed to catch were 'size, color, cut and hair dye'. When Ethan finally agreed to let Tori take the ride with Mirabelle there was an extremely long list of rules they had to go over before it was even allowed.

This was our cue to get out of the kitchen before Tori dragged us out on her mad man shopping extravaganza.

Not bothering to wait for Selene or the other two boys, Simon and I backed out of the room and into the hallway. I folded my arms over my chest again, something that I was taking notice of doing a bit more than usual these last few days. My rationality wavered between being cold all the time or wondering if my sudden swelling chest was beginning to become too noticeable. It might have looked non-existent to the rest of the population, but I could see them growing. It was a horrible mixture of excitement and embarrassment, but I kept my hands tucked under my armpits as we walked back up the staircase.

"What did you think of Dr. Demento in there?" Simon quirked a brow, "Guy was a bit too creepy for my taste."

We started up the steps.

"Maybe we're just used to all the creepo adults back at Lyle…starts making us think everyone of them is a touch loose in the head." I shrugged, "What do you think of the others?" By others I meant Selene, Seth and Adam.

Simon fought back a laugh. "I didn't think it was possible for there to be a male version of Tori, but I think cocky Adam does a fine impersonation."

"It's weird don't you think?" When he just looked at me with a 'huh?' etched into his features I sighed, "It's weird that they knew so much about us, and it's weird that they all want to hear necromancer stories…don't you think it's weird?" I asked.

"No, not really." We turned the corner to our hallway, "I think you are just paranoid after everything we went through. Sure Ethan was a bit cracked in the head, but Andrew probably let them know things last night."

Selene had mentioned something about that when I bumped into her earlier. I pressed my eyes shut and pinched the bridge of my nose. I'm blaming Derek for this one. Imprinting these ridiculous thoughts in my head when there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Simon stopped walking once we met his door.

"I'm going to finish getting ready, shower and stuff. I'll see you later?" He grinned.

There was that extremely awkward moment where you know you should just kiss and get it over with. We both were standing there in silence with strange looks plastered on our faces. But he didn't move. And I sure as heck wasn't going to move if he wasn't going to move. So we stood there stupidly until I wrapped my fingers up together in front of me and took a step away.

"I should- well- we- I- um- I'll…See you later, Simon." I turned quickly and made a quick dash for my room.

I was so close to doing; close to really having a nice kissing moment with Simon, and I blew it. Or maybe he blew it? Either way it was blown, and I couldn't help but try and sort out how I felt about that as I opened up the door to my room and practically jumped out of my skin.

Derek was sitting on the edge of my bed, his expression dark and unreadable. Shocker.

"Where were you? We met people down stairs and they wanted to meet you." I passed by him and opened up the curtains all the way. The sun was out. It was going to be nice.

"What does it matter if I was there or not?" He said sharply, rising up and standing there so that he took up half the room. "No supernatural really cares if a werewolf is there or not. I'm second rate to them."

"That's not true," Though I had seen the way Seth and Adam had been looking at him. There was obvious distaste, and it made me want to find them both and chew them out for being such jerks. Derek had enough people hating on him because of how big he was, or how moody he was. He was ridiculed about his acne and about his hygiene; it's a wonder he didn't hole himself up in his room all the time. Still, he didn't need it _here _as well.

"You should go hang around with Simon. He showers fast." He nodded towards the door. "I came to talk, but I heard-" He shook his head. "Never mind. We can talk later."

My hand was still clutching the material of the curtain while I studied his face. There was always more there beneath whatever it was he tried to confess, but for the life of me I couldn't figure it out.

"Derek, I _wanted _to talk to you again. That's why I whispered it to you earlier. I don't have to go spend time with Simon. He's busy and I'm not and you're here." I shrugged, "So talk."

For a split second I thought he was going to open his mouth to tell me something, but he shook his head and brushed his hair out of his face. "Later. I think I'm going to lay down for awhile."

I had noticed his forehead looked sweaty again, and his breathing was heavier then usual. "I'll come check on you later? Bring some Tylenol or something?" I suggested.

He was already halfway out the door when I heard him grunt out a; sure.

Brooding Derek wasn't anything new to me so when he left I didn't feel like I had truly made him angry. Instead I plopped down onto the soft bed and stared up at the ceiling. The quiet was nice for a change, less scary then it usually was. I closed my eyes and began humming some cheesy jingle I had heard on the radio during the drive over.

"Hey…"

I opened my eyes and searched the room. Nothing. Never a good sign. Not when you can see ghosts.

"Hello?" I cursed myself mentally for answering it after the word left my big fat mouth.

"Come here." It said again, and this time I followed my gaze to the closet in the far corner.

_No Chloe. Dark closets are bad. Big no no. Think of the last time you opened a closet door. _

I got up from my bed anyway.

"Hello? Who is there? Show me or I'll pull you through." It was an idle threat. Personally I didn't want to pull anyone through since I had no control over what else I brought back with it.

"Open the door."

_Sure, and then I'll open the secret passage way that leads to the secret murder room where the climax of the film will eventually unfold in about thirty minutes from now. _

I opened the door despite my conscious' sarcastic banter.

Nothing. A big closet full of clothes and shoes.

"Wow, scary." I went to close the door when I heard my name from somewhere behind the clothes.

Ok, extremely odd now. I leaned over and pushed aside two of the longer dresses in the closet. One was covered in sequins and scratched at my hand while I swatted at it.

There was something in the back of the closet. Something that was sticking partially out that I couldn't really see unless I leaned forward more and kneeled down on the floor. My eyebrows must have been arched up somewhere along my hairline, and as I shuffled forward to take a better look I felt something grab my arm and drag me forward into darkness.

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Sorta a cliffy, or maybe not. I know it wasn't the most riveting chapter, but stories need a back bone and secondary characters. Still, if you could be ever so kind as to review for me I shall certainly extend my gratitude to you.


	3. Chapter 3

You guys rock so much! I'm sorry this upload took a bit longer then I promised, but with the holiday and the end of school things got a little hectic. Anyway, here is chapter three and please remember to leave me some feedback by reviewing! Love love!

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**Chapter 3**

I was shouting and squirming as a pair of arms wrapped around my middle, but a strong hand came over my mouth to shut me up. The fact that I could feel the rise and fall of chest behind me reassured me that it wasn't some zombie ghost that I raised from the dead. This was a real live being that was pulling me deeper into the darkness of my closet, and I felt the urge to throw up because I was actually scared.

The arm that was tugging me back loosened its grip once the passageway we were in started to get bigger. We had somehow managed to end up in a small dark windowless room. I still couldn't see who or what had dragged me back here, but my eyes were slowly adjusting to the light as the hand over my mouth fell down along my side.

"Don't scream…"

It was like hearing that you were going to be raped by some mugger in an alley, and I wheeled around to look at the person who was silencing me. Adam. It was why his body had felt so hot while he pulled me back into the darkness.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I practically shouted, backing up just enough so that the small of my back hit against something sharp.

"Just wait a second, ok?" I could hear him shuffle across the room and after a moment or two of silence there was a flicker of light from the corner of the room.

He was holding a lantern in one hand and a bottle of water in another. He closed the small distance between us and tossed me the unopened bottle. I grabbed it before it hit the floor, but couldn't help but study it skeptically. There was only a select few people I trusted these days, and this boy that I had just happened to meet a mere few minutes ago was not one of them.

"It isn't poisoned." He snorted back a sharp laugh, "If I wanted to drug you I wouldn't be so obvious about it, alright." He placed the lantern down on the floor and I finally got a good glimpse of where we were.

Whatever passageway started out from the back of my closet ended up in some teeny crawl space that was probably located somewhere between the second and third floor. I tapped lightly on the walls, but once again he merely laughed.

"It's sound proof." He nodded around the room. "Found it while I was exploring the joint about a year ago."

I furrowed my brow, "What is this place really? Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters? Hogwarts?" I was too tired and confused to look at this place as anything but some extension of a really cliché fantasy land.

Adam shook his head and then removed one of the floor boards. He reached down and brought up another bottle of water. "Its what they told you it was. A safe house until they can figure out how to stop Edison." He shrugged, "Why don't you take their word for it?"

I scowled, opened my own water bottle, and hesitated a moment before taking a sip. "Maybe because every person I have dealt with the last few weeks has lied to me. I don't even know you and you drag me into this place and just expect me to be ok with it." huffed out, and then took another sip of water. "What do you want from me anyway?"

For some reason this simple question scared me more then I was willing to let on. I held my ground however. I wasn't going to let someone like Adam think he could frighten the tiny blond girl.

"You wouldn't talk about your gift…not with everyone there. Not with your two bodyguards hovering over your shoulder like we were going to maul you." Even through the dimly lit room I could see the cocky little smirk on his face.

I closed the top of the water bottle and shrugged. "I know just as much as you do. I'm new to this whole thing. The Edison Group…I didn't even know about them until recently."

There was a bit more shuffling from his end of the room and before I could focus on where he was standing the boy was hovering over me. I could feel the heat radiating off of his chest, and I took a startled step back until the sharp wood in the wall poked me again.

"Well if that's the case then I suppose you know everything." He shrugged, and I looked at him with the utmost confusion twisted on my features. When he seemed to catch this he grinned again, "My Aunt was a necromancer. She used to talk about it when I was little…told me things about the gift."

I snorted, though couldn't help but let out a bit of my intrigue. "Gift? It isn't a gift. Raising souls and trapping them back into bodies is not a gift, Adam. It haunts me when I go to sleep at night." But suddenly I was very much aware that I was speaking with someone who may know more about it then Derek even did.

He of course caught this and turned to face the opposite wall. "But you want to control it don't you? Don't you want to know how to call it and then suppress it without even bothering to blink your eyes?" He crossed the room and kicked open the floor board. His water bottle hit the ground with a thud. "I can help you with that."

There was a voice going off in the back of my mind that told me not to trust the boy. Of course it was the same voice that had told me not to trust Derek and now I couldn't even perform the most simplest tasks without turning to him for some sort of advice. I shrugged to buy myself some time. Maybe I could tell him that I wanted to think on it and explain this whole thing to the boys and Tori. If there was a way for me to control my necromancy then I should learn how to do so.

"Look lets get this straight. I can't sit back and totally open myself up to you when there is the slight possibility that you are lying to me. How am I supposed to know if you are telling the truth?"

He was hovering over me again before I could even finish getting out the last word. There was a snap of his fingers and a dim bit of fire sparked from his fingertips. In the flicker of the orange glow I could see his dark blue eyes penetrate my own, and I shivered involuntarily.

"I hate the Edison Group; _hate _them, Chloe." He slowly untucked the button up shirt from his jeans. "I was in the same damn predicament that you were in recently…Edison Group catching me and trying to _rehabilitate _me." Once the shirt had cleared the top of his pants he yanked it up enough for me to get a full view of his stomach.

I nearly threw up on myself.

The scar that lined his stomach ran from the center of his chest right down below the top of his jeans. It was raised and pink, and it was sure as hell obvious that it had probably been infected numerous times. I gagged a bit, and he immediately lowered the bottom of his shirt.

It only took me a few moments or so before I finally was able to ask him what had happened.

"They got hold of me. Wanted to see where the source of my power came from." He made a slashing movement over his belly. "So they researched….over and over and over…" He looked past me towards the wall.

"How did you get away?" Cause it hadn't been easy when I had done it.

He shook his head, hands coming to rest against the back of his head. "It doesn't matter. Point is I did it, and now I'm here. I just- I figured that even a new kid could use a friend in a place like this."

I didn't like the way he said friend regardless of the smile he gave me. "I came with friends. It's not like I'm some loner." No, I had shown up with three other supernaturals who were very much my friends despite our ragtag attempt to stay together. "but thanks. I mean…new friends are good to have too." I didn't want to get him upset. Nor did I want to face the rage of a kid who could easily set me on fire.

Adam stepped forward again, a smile tugging against the corner of his mouth. "Good. I mean. I just wanted you to know that you could talk to me about things if you wanted…without your bodyguards around. I promise I don't bite." He grinned.

"That's funny…I do."

We both turned towards the voice, and I felt a very reassuring sigh escape me. Derek had somehow managed to find a way in to the room, and was standing there in the dim. I couldn't make out his features but I could tell that he was angry about something. All that I could really see was the hint of deep green eyes beneath the locks of dark black hair.

"How did you get in here?" Adam took a very quick step away from me, his attention fully on Derek as he entered further into the crawl space.

"Werewolf…remember?" He looked between the two of us, "Us dogs know how to perform tricks." The closer he got the more I could see the beads of sweat on his forehead.

"Derek are you ok?" I asked, stepping towards him regardless of Adam standing a few steps behind me.

Derek wasn't looking at me, but I could sense his territorial front as he moved by me and approached Adam. "Why'd you bring her down here?" Her gestured around the room, and then wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

It was dark enough in the room, but I could see the deep flushed look set in Derek's features, and I stepped forward to place my hand on the back of his arm. "Derek it's fine. Lets just go…he didn't mean anything, and I want to talk to Tori and Simon anyway." I pulled, but Derek didn't budge. Instead he jerked his arm away from my touch and advanced towards Adam again.

"I asked why you brought her down here."

Adam smirked in the dim and then shrugged, "I thought she looked a bit stressed down in the kitchens. You know…with you and that other guy hovering over her like two overbearing parents. Figured I'd steal her away for a little while so we could talk in private. "

"Derek come on lets just-" I wanted him to come back to my room with me, but he was still moving towards Adam. I didn't like the way he was standing there; his stature was rigid, and his face seemed distant somehow. "Derek do you need me to go outside with you?" I was suddenly aware that he might be changing again.

"Stop it Chole." He snorted back a laugh, "She's a friend, and I personally don't trust you."

The way he said my name reminded me of all those moments he had been furious with me, and I stepped back and hit the wall again.

"For someone who claims she's only a friend you sure do look territorial of her." Adam merely folded his arms across his chest as if to challenge Derek.

There was a low growl that rose from Derek, and I was rushing forward again without realizing I was doing it. "Derek, come on…lets go outside." His body was shaking when I touched him, and the heat nearly made me pull away. I didn't. Somehow just by resting my fingertips against his arm the trembling slowed and the noise from his chest ceased.

"That's some trick you have there Chloe." Adam pushed by the two of us and started backing up towards the other end of the room. "If you ever get a moment a way from Frankenstein over there maybe you could come by my room and we can talk about that stuff." He smirked.

"Just go Adam" I said softly, fully aware that I was now gripping a bit too hard onto Derek's arm.

"Yeah, all right." He laughed, shaking his head in the process. "I'll hold my breath."

I heard him laugh through the thick darkness as he disappeared back out of the room. When there was a click in the distance, and I was pretty sure he was gone, I let go of Derek's arm and crossed the room until I was standing in the corner somewhere.

"What is wrong with you?" It was his voice that spoke up and startled me from my thoughts.

"What did I do?" I spun around to face him, but he had managed to sneak up behind me. His face hovered over mine and I was suddenly glad that it was dark again. I could feel the heat rise up in my cheeks as I lowered my eyes to the floor.

Derek grumbled again, "Do you ever think about the things you get yourself into? Honestly Chloe!" He raked a hand up through his hair.

"I wasn't the one who initiated this! He showed up and dragged me into this thing without me even having a chance to protest." I pointed towards the door that Adam had left through.

"And what if I didn't hear you? What if he had managed to get you in here and harmed you, Chloe?" There was a hint of worry in his voice; a hint that unnerved me.

I made to walk passed him but he took my hand and held me there. The last time he had done something like this he had nearly ripped my arm from its socket. This time his fingers pressed lightly into my skin, and I felt myself get goosebumps while we stood there. I couldn't look at him. I just couldn't manage it.

"You need to stop worrying about me all the time. It's not going to help us solve anything. And you-" I finally lifted my eyes to meet his brilliant green ones. " you have a lot of things that you need to worry about. Changing and all. I can't keep being the reason you don't take care of yourself. It isn't right." Not to mention I could easily take care of myself if people would just give me the opportunity.

"What happens to me isn't important. You - " There was a pause, " I care about what happens to you and to Simon…"

"And Tori…" I added awkwardly.

At this he laughed.

"Derek!" I couldn't help but giggle a little bit through my attempt to be stern.

"Ok, and Tori." Though as he said it I could still pretty much tell that he was lying. "Just stop doing this ok? I can't stay awake every second of the day just to make sure you aren't getting into any trouble."

"I wouldn't want you to stay awake that long. You'd get cranky." Again I laughed a bit, but couldn't shake the other feeling in the center of my chest. "I'll try to keep out of trouble. If I have to have Tori stay with me every second of the day then I will. Okay?"

Suddenly we were both acutely aware that we were still holding hands and we jerked back. I moved to the center of the room and Derek lingered somewhere in the shadows.

"You never told me what he wanted from you." Derek spoke softly.

Honestly I still didn't know what Adam wanted, but I had at least learned that he knew more things about necromancy then Derek did; or so at least he said. I didn't know if I wanted Derek to know that though. If he thought I was going to run off and ask Adam questions he was never going to leave me alone.

I swallowed, "He wanted to know more things about my necromancy. He said he had read a few things on it and was interested."

"And did you tell him?" The frantic tone in Derek's voice returned.

I stammered "N-n-n-no I di-d-d-dn-n't. You came before he got anything out of me." Which was a bit true considering I didn't really divulge any of my secrets.

"Chloe…" He heaved a sigh and walked towards me out of the dark. Even in the shadows, a place I had so recently been terrified of, Derek somehow made me feel safe. "These people don't like me. I can tell. The way they look at me…everything. I don't like it. Maybe if I could get away for a couple of days, scope out a hiding spot where you could all reach me with food and information-"

"No!" I shouted, glad that the room was sound proof. Even Derek took a startled step back at my shout. "We need you to stay! You can't just run off and leave us here! We need you to be the eyes and ears around here…we need you to make sure that we are doing things safely. I need you here, Derek." I folded my arms across my chest, "I couldn't bear to think of you going out into those woods alone while you change. I'd feel horrible."

If I wasn't so accustomed to Derek's moodiness I would have probably taken the next moment and chalked it up as nothing. But when the boy closed the distance and hugged me, actually hugged me, I felt my body go a bit rigid against him. I suppose he felt it too because he didn't hold on very long. Instead he let go and then took a few awkward steps away from me.

He cleared his throat, obviously looking for the right sort of thing to say in response, but failed. "Come on." He nodded in the direction of the door and I followed him.

"I mean it you know." I said from behind him, my hands batting out in front of me so I could grip to the back of his shirt in the dark. "About needing you here. You are my friend Derek, and I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for you."

He didn't say anything in response. I hated when he did that. I should have hugged him back, or said something. _God Chloe you really are an idiot sometimes. _There was the understatement of the year.

We reached the door and Derek shoved his shoulder against it until the light peaked through the small crack. I guess he was surveying for anyone in the room because after a moment he pushed the rest of it open and then crawled out through the space. I shimmed against the wood, and grabbed his hand when he offered to pull me out. He must not have been paying attention and yanked a bit too hard. I flew at him, my body hitting surprisingly hard into his own. The shock must have taken him off guard because we both were falling until he hit the mattress of my bed and I fell on top of him.

Being friends with someone who looked like Derek was beginning to become increasingly difficult, and I was soon rolling onto my side and off the bed before any more horrible thoughts were forced into my skull. "Sorry…" I mumbled, and began brushing my hair down just so I was doing something with my hands.

"I'll stay." He said after sitting up on the bed.

I noticed his face was still sweaty and red, but he looked a bit more out of breath then I recalled from the other times he changed. He stood up quickly and began moving towards my door without looking at me. He fidgeted with the zipper of his jeans though I wasn't sure why he looked so completely put out, and finally turned the knob to leave.

"Derek I-"

He held up a hand to silence me, and then stuck his head partially out the door. I was beginning to think that things would be a lot easier if I had developed some sort of supersonic hearing.

"They plan on training us today. Separating us to key in on our abilities."

"Who?" I was moving towards him, but I halted when he shot his hand up to stop me from getting any closer.

"Tripp and some other woman. Andrew is with them too." His brow was furrowed. "You'll be with Tripp…" He was shaking his head again.

"What are they going to make us do?" I started pulling at the ends of my hair. "I don't want to be alone with that guy. He's weird."

Derek was closing the door behind him quickly and then ushering me to sit down on the bed while he took a seat in the armchair. He sat up slightly and then was pulling a small paperback book out of the back of his pocket when my door opened. Andrew was standing there and looked between us.

"Derek…I - well- I didn't expect to find you in here." He shot Derek a strained smile which Derek merely replied to with a shrug. "I came to get Chloe for a bit."

I cast Derek a look out the corner of my eye, and from just above the pages of the book I could see his eyebrows raise just enough to usher me to go on. "Oh yeah, sure…Derek and I, well, we were just talking about his book." I quickly looked at the book cover.

"What book?" Andrew inquired, stepping forward just a bit but enough that it would have made it difficult for me to read the book title now. _Too late, Andrew. _

"_Frankenstein_" As I said it and recalled Adam's name for Derek I couldn't help but laugh to myself.

"What part were you discussing?" Andrew went on with his questioning.

Honestly the last time I read _Frankenstein _I had been in the process of dissecting the greatest Directors of the late twentieth century. I hadn't opened the book for one single paragraph of study time. I opened my mouth to make up some answer when Derek stood up from his seat and closed the book in front of him.

"We were just talking about the whole theme of the monster not really being the monster, you know? He's far more sincere once he figures out what he is, and in the end the monster becomes the man who created him." He tossed the book in my direction. "Keep reading and we can talk about more later."

The book landed in front of me, and I watched Derek move out the door in a hurry. Andrew was standing there with his mouth pressed in a thin straight line. "It's a good read. One of my favorite novels."

I tucked the book under my pillow and slid off the bed until I was standing there stupidly in front of him. "So where are we going? And what about everyone else? Are they coming too?" I followed him out the door and passed the boys room.

"Not right now. This is just something that Ethan wanted to speak with you about."

We moved down the stairs and passed the hallway that led towards the kitchens. I assumed we were heading into the back of the house when Andrew opened up another door to our left.

"Go on down Ethan is waiting for you."

A basement. It had to be a basement.

"Why don't you go first?" I gestured for him to take the first steps, but Andrew only smiled at me like I was some dumb five year old asking him to tie my shoes for me.

"I need to go see Tori and Simon for a bit, and then I'll join you." He placed his hand on my shoulder and guided me down the first step. "Just turn left at the bottom of the staircase and follow the hallway until you see Ethan. Shouldn't miss him."

I expected him to leave me right then so he could see Simon and Tori, but the man watched over me that I had no choice but to move down the staircase. I had made it halfway down when I heard the door click shut behind me. I turned, Andrew's silhouette now gone as the wooden door replaced it. The first thing I thought of doing was screaming for Derek, but that would only cause a plethora of problems if this happened to be a false alarm.

I took my time moving down the rest of the steps until I was standing in the middle of a long hallway. Turning left I could already see a dim light at the end of the hall and so I followed it cautiously, every now and then checking behind me to see if something creepy had decided to pop up. My heart was pounding in my chest, but I focused on listening to my surroundings and not on the thudding against my ribcage.

The light at the end brightened as I reached the end of the hallway. The room opened up into a huge chamber, and standing at the far end of the room was Ethan Tripp. I swallowed my nerves and approached the man, doing my best to remain composed despite my fear.

"Sorry I took so long. Andrew was just going over-" My voice trailed off, everything inside my brain shutting down as Ethan turned around enough so I could see what was standing in front of him.

"Now Chloe I need you to remain calm and collected."

But all I could focus on was the body of my Aunt Lauren as it lay dead on the table in front of me.

* * *

Cliffhangers seem to always crop up in my stories. Anyway, please leave a review and let me know what you think!


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